Column

From The Daily News of Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2007 . . .

With apologies to the late, great Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me but . . .
l The so-called Super Series continues tonight in Winnipeg with Canada’s top junior hockey players attempting to put a fifth straight beatdown on their Russian counterparts.
And with Hockey Canada continuing to pound away at a dead horse, our guys will wear replicas of the jerseys worn by the original Team Canada, the one that beat the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summit Series. (The fact that Paul Henderson, who scored that oh, so memorable series-winning goal, isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame is a topic for another day.)
But there was only one Summit Series and it was played in an atmosphere that never will be replicated. The Cold War had us by the throat. Oh, but how we despised the godless Commies — and that, more than anything else, is why goings-on in Canada came to a halt for two weeks that autumn.
There also weren’t any Soviet players in the NHL, never mind in our junior leagues, so there was a great deal of mystique surrounding them.
Today, with the Soviet Union having imploded, the map has changed completely. So Canada is left to play a Russia whose teams are here so often it makes us dizzy.
Which is why, unless you are a friend or a relative of a player on Team Canada, it is hard to feel anything for Hockey Canada’s Super Series.
If you aren’t able to catch any of these games, don’t sweat it. The Russians will be back in Canada in less than three months.
l The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders met Sunday in Regina in the annual Labour Day Weekend Classic. It used to be called the Labour Day Classic until it dawned on someone that, gee, it isn’t played on Labour Day.
If someone were to venture back and dissect the series, they also would discover that there haven’t been a lot of classics, either.
Anyway . . . when the teams took the field Sunday for the 41st renewal it was the first time the game had been held with both teams in first place, never mind that for a lot of the rivalry they were in the same conference.
It also marked only the seventh time that the Roughriders went into the game with a winning record.
And, yes, this one was a classic. It really was. All of which means the Western final, between the Roughies and the B.C. Lions, may also be a classic. Before we get there, though, the Lions visit Regina on Sept. 22.
l The NFL’s abysmal offseason of 2007 continued over the weekend with the drug police nailing two high-profile offenders.
Safety Rodney Harrison of the New England Patriots got a four-game sentence for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. ESPN.com has reported that he used human growth hormone (HGH).
“I want to make it clear that not once did I ever use steroids,” Harrison said during a teleconference during which he didn’t take any questions. “I did admit to the commissioner that I did in fact use a banned substance. My purpose was never to gain a competitive edge. Rather, my use was solely for accelerating the healing process of injuries I sustained while playing football.”
Since when is using a banned substance to accelerate healing not working to gain a competitive edge?
From all reports, Harrison is a stand-up guy and a terrific teammate. He also is a cheater.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also took out Dallas Cowboys quarterback coach Wade Wilson, who said he briefly used HGH in an attempt to improve his quality of life. Wilson, who drew a five-game suspension and a US$100,000 fine, was diagnosed with diabetes more than 20 years ago.
There is no effective test for HGH. The two suspensions came out of an investigation by the Albany, N.Y., district attorney’s office into the workings of a pharmacy in Orlando, Fla.
The investigation continues.
You can bet there will be more suspensions.
l Having a bad day? Cheer up. It could be worse. You could be a fan of the Michigan Wolverines.
The U.S. college football season began over the weekend and the Wolverines went in ranked No. 5 in the AP poll. (Sports Illustrated rated them sixth.) Yes, they were considered a serious contender for the BCS championship. Their schedule includes eight of 12 games at home and, like most of the top-ranked teams, they scheduled a cream puff for their opener, a game for which Las Vegas wouldn’t even offer a line. The Appalachian State Mountaineers, from Boone, N.C., would be the sacrificial lambs, getting US$400,000 for taking their lumps in front of 110,000 fans at the Big House in Ann Arbor.
After which, life would go on. The Mountaineers would play Lenoir-Rhyne the following weekend and the Wolverines would play host to the Oregon Ducks.
Except that a funny thing happened on the way to the championship.
In one of the greatest upsets in sports history — Christians beat Lions, Maple Leafs win Stanley Cup — Appalachian State dumped mighty Michigan, 34-32.
Just like that, Michigan’s dreams of a national championship are over.
Which is why they play the games and why sports is the ultimate reality show.
l After the first weekend of WHL exhibition play, the Kamloops Blazers are 2-1.
The 2008 Memorial Cup will be held in Kitchener, May 16-25.